A Dance of Faeries
by AllyKat82
Summary: The ALO continuation that began in my 'Keeping Me Warm' story. Please read and review.
1. Return

My hand trembled as I reached out towards the Nervegear sitting on my bed. A small well of fear overflowed in my stomach and I yanked my hand back as though burned.

The thought of going back in was petrifying. We had been lucky getting out the last time.

Guilt followed the fear. _Not all of us made it out._

My best friend from the early days of the game was still inside, and now we had an idea of where. Kazuto was uploading tbe Alfheim Online game as I wrestled with my nerves here. We planned to meet somewhere neutral at 6.

Glancing at the clock, I saw that I had ten minutes and still had to create an avatar.

The Nervegear felt stifling as I slid it on and laid back.

 _Here goes nothing...I hope._

 _"_ Link start!"


	2. The World of Fairies

_**And here we are, the ALO arc of my Sword Art Online series. I had to change the events around a bit, which you'll start seeing here. I will also have a few IRL chapters just to establish more than just the game world and Asuna's ward room.**_

 _ **Link start!**_

I watched as the Nervegear ran through it's startup sequence, my breathing loud in my ears. I fervently hoped that this wasn't another trap, that Kazuto and I weren't stepping into another death game blindly. I had just managed to walk without crutches, for crying out loud!

A prompt appeared, asking me to select languages and other preferences, standard fare. Then a window appeared, asking me to pick a gender, followed by a turntable type menu of the various different races of fairy. They showed skill bonuses under each one, which made sense. From what Kazuto and Andrew told me it was more of a skill based than level based game, and death was only penalized by a temporary skill drop. Magic was also available.

I started to feel excited despite myself. I _loved_ magic in stories!

I was scrolling through and was about to skip Leaphrecaun until it's skill bonuses caught my eye: +10 to maces, hammers, and cudgels, +10 to blacksmithing, +5 disable device, bonus to enhancement spell durations. The avatar's default was also wearing a gray dress that resembled my work clothes from SAO.

I tapped the select button and a prompt opened up with a progress bar that read scanning and a space below to enter a player name.

L-I-S-B-E-T-H I typed, smiling grimly as memories tumbled through my head.

 **Character creation complete, entering game. Welcome to Alfheim Online!**

The world materialized, pixels flickering moments before rendering ceased. I wondered what had happened when I realized that I had appeared in mid-air.

I did not scream, I was too shocked. My arms pinwheeled in the air as I started tumbling. I swiped my hand to bring up the menu, but nothing happened. That's when I screamed.

That's also when a pair of arms grabbed me and slowed my descent.

"You're late," a warm voice said, setting me at ease. Looking up, I saw a smiling face that, while different, was obviously Kirito, Kazuto's avatar. He set me down and looked at my new appearance.

"Mace again?" he asked. "Good choice. Open your menu and check out what Yui and I found out."

I swiped my hand through the air twice, then growled with frustration. A tiny chiming sound was heard and a form alighted on my shoulder, a familiar giggle reaching my ears.

"Other hand, Mommy," my daughter Yui said.

When I scrolled through the menus, I was shocked. "These are..."

"Our SAO stats," Kirito said. "I also had a bunch of gear from there in storage. I couldn't delete it since we have shared storage still, apparently."

Glancing down, I saw the silver band still around his finger. A happy smile grew as I felt the same on mine.

Kirito swiped through his menus and hit a button. A window opened in front of me.

 **Shared storage was selected to be deleted by -Kirito-, do you wish to delete items in shared storage? This action cannot be undone.**

I glanced at Kirito, then at Yui.

"It can't be accessed and could cause game issues I'd rather not face. We're already not where we're supposed to be."

I sighed, looking at the question mark named items in the inventory, seeing a level 70 mace icon at the top. "I'll make new ones," I whispered, hitting the confirm button.

* * *

"How is it we both have top tier skill levels, but you can't manage to fly?" I asked as Kirito disgorged himself from the tree he had flown into.

"This is tougher than I thought," he said, brushing leaves from his shaggy hair.

"That's probably because you're using the control like its a sword," I said, drifting over to him. "Gotta be gentle with it. Otherwise, you gain too much speed and, well..." I pointed back at the tree we had just left. I floated up a few feet and beckoned him to follow.

"You manage to stay with me and Yui," I said with a smile. "And you'll get a reward."

Yui stuck her head out of the belt pouch she had flown into to rest and grinned. "You can do it, Daddy!"

We were there a while.


	3. Leafa

I hopped over a large tree root as we trudged towards the closest city. Yui had access to game data again, though not early to the same extent as she had in SAO. We had discussed it after another disastrous attempt at flying came to an abrupt end.

I swear, it's no fun being in a world where you could fly if your partner can't keep up.

"Yui," I asked as we took a short rest. "Does the game recognize you as anything other than a navigation pixie?"

The girl thought for a moment, then shook her head. "It just seems to register me as a player aid expansion. But the game's program is really similar to Cardinal, just a little less present."

Kirito stood and I saw him draw his sword. He gazed at the steel with a look of longing. I could sympathize, as the mace I had was a pale comparison to Asgarde with its small head and minuscule flanges.

"Too light," he muttered, giving it a few test swings. It may have been light compared to his Elucidator or the Dark Repulsor, but it was still sure in his grip and he had lost none of his footwork as he worked his way through a few thrusts and parries.

"How far now, Yui?" he asked as he sheathed his sword.

"It is approximately three more hours by foot," she said. Then she posted her tiny hands on her hips and took a stance I recognized from when I had to scold her or - more often - her father. "We could get there faster by flying, but you keep crashing. You did ok when you caught Mom."

"I wasn't thinking then," he whispered, embarrassed to be called to the mat by this six-inch version of his daughter. "I just jumped and caught her."

"This isn't the dragon's cave, hon," I said with a smirk. "I'm guessing you're just overthinking it."

"Easy for you to say," he grumped. "You two seem to do ok at it."

I was going to fire back a response when an explosion overhead caught our attention. I could barely make out two forms flying overhead, dodging fireballs as they flew by. Even as we watched, one wheeled over and sent a blast behind them before turning back to try to gain altitude.

"Should we help?" I asked.

Kirito was shaking his head and about to speak when a full volley of fire came forth and struck the slower of the two, engulfing them and leaving only a small pinprick of light that faded quickly.

Then we saw a group of twelve fairies giving chase, bearing lances.

Kirito took off, legs churning as he leaped over trees and brush. He leaped into the air and his wings spread, dark and gossamer thin. He took off like an arrow, giving me barely enough time to grab Yui before taking off after him.

"What do you think you're doing?" I demanded as I caught up.

"They're hunting the other one," he said simply, teeth gritted.

"You don't know that," I countered, reaching out to lay a hand on his arm. It was tense under the coat he wore.

"You don't take twelve to one odds just for fun," he snapped. "We took better odds than that in the Crusade and still lost a lot of good people."

I suddenly understood. Shortly after we had adopted Yui, the assault team had put the clearing of floors on hold to deal with the murder guild, the Laughing Coffins. The idea had been to imprison them, but it had turned into a slaughter. Kirito, Asuna, Klein, and many others had been forced to kill other players just to survive.

I still ached remembering waking up and seeing the red cursor hovering over his sleep deprived head for a week afterward.

As we closed in, we saw them dive into a clearing. From our vantage point, I could now see their quarry: a young woman in green and white, long blonde hair streaming down her back. She held a katana-like sword in two hands, a dark scorch mark down one side of her clothing. They closed around her in a rough semi-circle, lances held at the ready.

I felt a flare of anger and pulled my mace. They weren't going to win that easily. I landed hard in the clearing, mace held in a two-handed grip as I set my feet for a charge.

Kirito landed a split-second behind me.

On his head.

"Damn," he groaned, rolling to his hands and knees. "Gotta work on these landings."

I facepalmed at my husband.

"What are you two doing?" The girl asked. "Go, get out of here!"

"Would someone tell me why twelve big guys are about to fight one single girl?" I asked conversationally.

"Sounds pretty uncool if you ask me," Kirito said, looking at me. "Wouldn't you say?"

"Downright shameful" I agreed.

Shouts of anger came in from the armored fairies. They were Salamanders if I remembered the race selection options correctly. One glided forward, lance held ready.

"Get your asses out of here, noobs," he said in what was supposed to be an intimidating way.

I survived SAO. Nothing he could do scared me. I heard a soft chuckle from Kirito.

"You asked for it!" he cried and charged us. I took a step to the side and saw my husband step forward slightly. A cloud of dust covered the area, and when it cleared, the Salamander warrior was still.

And Kirito held the end of the lance in an iron grip, the point an arm's length away from his chest. He pulled the fairie in and shoved, sending him flying into some of his comrades. The assembled group gasped while I smiled grimly.

"We hate to interrupt, " I said. "But would you mind if we took care of this?"

"I guess if you really want to," the girl said, shifting her attention. "It's not like they're going to let you leave now."

"Then sit back and watch the show," Kirrito said, drawing his sword. The smile on his face I knew all too well.

"Been nice knowing you," I said to the arrayed soldiers, posting my mace on my shoulder.

A black streak broke across the battlefield. As the dust trail settled, the salamanders looked around in confusion when one suddenly exploded in red light, leaving a small flame behind. They all turned to look behind them in shock.

Kirito slowly straightened, the cocksure look on his face showing me a truth.

The Black Swordsman was back.

And all hell broke loose. Some salamanders charged him, hoping to overwhelm him with sheer numbers. Others turned towards me and the girl.

Two more flashes came from the knot near my husband, but then I was too busy to keep an eye on him. I trusted his prowess.

I deflected the first lance point up over my head was a slight parry, then spun into a swing that reminded me of the Giant's Riposte sword skill. Maybe muscle memory was a thing. I slammed my shoulder into the body in front of me to clear my fighting range and ignored it as it flashed into flame. I yelled in defiance as I batted another lance away, seeing it crumple against one of the wielder's comrades, skewering him cleanly.

A helm cracker swing took him down as well. That made four, counting the first one from before the melee and not counting Kirito's count.

From the corner of my eye, I caught movement and spun, mace haft deflecting a lance thrust. I leaped up and over the follow-up and dropped to my knee, swing out and hearing the sound of bones cracking as I connected with his shins. He fell screaming and a backhanded swing to the face knocked him out of the fight.

I heard a scream from behind me and saw the girl cleave through another soldier, her anger clear on her face. I glanced around, but only one salamander remained. I shouldered my mace again.

"You in or out?' I asked sardonically.

"I'll pass," he said. "My magic is going to hit 900 soon, so I'd rather not die right now."

"At least you're honest about it," Kirito said, rolling the shoulder of his sword arm, strolling through a field of tiny flames. He looked at the girl. "You done?"

She gave her sword a flick and sheathed it. "I suppose so," she whispered as she shifted her gaze to the lone enemy. "But next time, Kagemune, you're going down!"

Kagemune chuckled. "Then next time I'll bring more friends along," he called in parting as he rose and then flew back the way he came.

"Well," I said, sliding my mace back into the frog on my belt. "That was fun."

"I'll say," my husband chuckled. "You ok?" He asked the girl.

Her sword might have been sheathed, but her guard was still up. "Well enough," she replied slowly, hand drifting to her sword hilt.

I patted the air between us with a faint smile. "It's ok," I said. "We're not here to fight you. I'm Lisbeth, and this is Kirito."

Kirito waved a hand. "Yo," he said.

Yui darted out of my belt pouch, going to land on Kirito's shoulder.

"You and Mom were awesome, Daddy!" she shouted, kissing him on the cheek.

"And that would be Yui," I said with a soft smile. "And you are?"

"Leafa," the girl said. "My name is Leafa."


	4. Night Flight

**Well, things from here are where the AU gets really AU.**

 **I hope you are all enjoying it so far, and I do apologize for the slow update schedule.**

 **Link start**!

* * *

"So, what do you want?" Leafa demanded. "A thank you? Some sort of reward? Or do you want to fight me?" Her hand hadn't strayed from her sword hilt since the Salamanders had left. I recognized the way she stood as a stance that would give quick movement if needed.

I sighed and waved a hand dismissively. "Nah, nothing like that," I said, seeing Kirito come up beside me and drape an arm over my shoulder. "We were just passing by and didn't like the look of things."

"So you're just a pair of good Samaritans," she said, her posture relaxing somewhat. "But I'm going to admit, seeing a spriggan and a leprechaun journeying together is weird. Normally your races are fighting."

"We know each other IRL," Kirito said. "So we don't really feed into meta game drama."

"Well," the blonde mused. "I guess I can buy you drinks in return for helping me out." She walked out from under the tree and spread her wings. "There's a neutral town north from here though it's a bit of a trek."

She went to take off and winced, her wings disappearing instantly.

"Are you ok?" I asked.

"Flew too long and the damage marker is also affecting my wings," Leafa said. "It'll be a few minutes before I can fly again."

"Isn't there somewhere closer we could head to?" I asked.

"Well, there's Sylvain," the blonde replied. "But that's Sylph territory."

"So?" Kirito interjected.

"So, you're not Sylphs," Leafa answered. "You go into another races territory and you can't attack them, but they can attack you just fine."

"I think Yui and I can keep Mr. Excitable here out lf trouble," I said, reaching up and clasping his hand in mine, feeling the smooth metal of our rings touching. Leafa saw this as well.

"You two are married in game?" She seemed like the prospect intrigued her, but she kept from delving too deep. "That patch is still pretty new, I'm surprised you already have the Yuld to pay for it."

She turned away to gaze at the moon and I pulled up my menu quickly and looked at the shared currency pane. All the Col we had from SAO was still there along with an extra 200, all in this Yuld. I shot a look at Kirito and he just shrugged. I closed the menu as Leafa began to turn back our way.

"I was also wondering if we'd be able to purchase some upgraded equipment and gear while we're there," I said. "I've got a decent blacksmithing skill and could do some upgrades if I had access to a forge."

She leaned against a tree trunk and thought. "I may know a weapons merchant that might give you a good deal on some gear," she sighed. "But it's probably going to be closed by the time we get there. How fast can you two fly?"

"I'm still working out landings," Kirito said, rubbing the back of his head. Sliding my hand up, I felt the lump forming.

"I think I figured out the controller," I said. "But it seems a little clunky."

Brushing her hands, she came over, a small smile forming. "I know a little trick to make it easier," she said, stepping behind us.

I felt a hand on my back, between my shoulder blades.

"Feel where my hand is?" She asked. "Picture there being virtual muscles and bones there."

I extended my wings and focused just on the spot she indicated. I could almost feel the connection she referred to. I heard a hissing chitter from beside me and saw Kirito's wings twitching rapidly as he closed his eyes in concentration.

Overachiever.

When I felt my wings start twitching, I heard a clap from behind us.

"Good!" Leafa exclaimed. "Now to fly, just do it harder."

It was easier every time, and then suddenly I felt a hand shove me forward. I dropped to the ground as my concentration was broken, but Kirito shot up through the same tree he had crashed through in his landing.

The Sylph started giggling, then I realized he wasn't coming back down. I glanced at Leafa, then we shot through the canopy.

"Kirito!" I called out, glancing around. I heard Yui call out as well when I heard a familiar voice shout.

"How do I get them to stop?" called the Black Swordsman.

I turned, seeing him flying in loops and figure eights as he tried to control his flight and burst into laughter, followed soon by Yui and Leafa.

"I'm sorry," I said as he finally managed to slow down and settle in the air near us. "But that was just too funny." I wiped some tears of mirth from my face before leaning forward to kiss him on the cheek.

"Ok," Leafa said. "Let's try going a little slower for a bit, hmm?"

* * *

A green tinged glow came into view as we flew on, managing to keep pace with Leafa despite some bursts of speed early on in our travel. Up ahead was a glowing city, the emerald color of the stonework and the lights made it a beautiful sight. I gasped in awe at the growing city, especially the sheer size of the central tower.

"Is that Sylvain?" I asked quietly. "It's beautiful."

"Isn't it?" Leafa sighed, a strange look in her eyes. She shook her head and turned slightly. "We're going to land at the base of the tower, ok?"

I nodded, and we started to slow slightly, but Kirito flew past us, still gazing in awe at the spectacular view.

"Kirito!" I shouted. "We're going to land!"

Leafa sighed hard. "Ah crap," she said, dropping fast.

I watched as Kirito tried to slow down and crashed into the side of the tower.

"Daddy doesn't seem to understand landings," Yui said.

I rubbed her cheek with a single fingertip.

"Let's keep that comment to ourselves, sweetheart," I whispered as I went to land by my husband.


	5. The First Night

"That really hurt," Kirito groaned as he sat up, rubbing his head. "I forgot I wasn't using the controller."

I crouched down next to him, rubbing his shoulders. "Yeah, sure," I teased in the same way I had when he tried to run up the wall of the dragon's den. "How're you feeling?"

"About like I fought Heathcliff," he said. He tried to stand but stumbled back into his back. "Twice."

"Oh, stop complaining," I said, smiling. "We'll find you a healing item."

"I can heal him," Leafa said, approaching. She held her hands and began to chant, words and glyphs swirling around her.

I watched in awe as she cast the first spell I had ever seen. "So this is magic," I breathed.

"Only the Undine can master high-level healing spells," she said, lowering her hands. "But that's an easy one anyone can learn. You should probably look into learning it."

"Other races have different skills, huh?" Kirito said. "What are Spriggans good at?"

"Mostly treasure hunting and illusions," she said, standing. "And Leprechauns are good at elemental spells and buffs."

"Leafa!" cried a voice, accompanied by the appearance of a short Sylph with greenish yellow hair. "You made it back! I was so worried!"

"Oh, hey Recon," Leafa said waving.

Recon froze as he spotted us standing next to his friend. "What are they doing here?" he spat as he gripped the hilt of the long knife belted at the small of his back.

"Calm down," she said. "These two saved me from those Salamanders. "This is Kirito, and this is Lisbeth."

I smiled and waved as she introduced us. The small fairy smiled sheepishly and rubbed the back of his head.

"Oh," he said, reaching out his hand hesitantly. "Thanks for that. I'm Recon." He eyed Kirito suspiciously. No matter the game, my love always managed to garner a shifty appearance with his all black preferences.

"Anyway," he continued. "Sigurd and the others are waiting in the tavern."

"Oh, right," Leafa murmured. "Well, I kind of promised to buy them a drink to thank them, so I won't be able to come tonight."

I don't think the kid could have looked any more shocked if she had grown another arm. "But…"

"Anyway," she said, walking off. "I'll catch you later!"

As we turned to follow, I heard a disappointed groan from behind us.

* * *

The inn the Sylph lead us to was a quaint little place, a couple of small tables and staffed by a few NPC waitstaff and a quiet bartender.

"So, what's good here?" Kirito asked, glancing around.

"How about we let her order," I suggested. "After all, she did pick this place, and it would be rude to order something expensive."

Leafa giggled. "It's ok, the food here is all the same price," she said, waving a waitress over. "But some of it is loads better with the wine."

Soon, three goblets shaped like drinking horns were deposited on the table along with a couple of pieces of a berry tart, a hollowed gourd half with some sort of pudding inside and a small dish of sliced cheese and thin crackers. Yui floated out and picked up a piece of cheese larger than she was and began to nibble on it.

"So, anyway," Leafa said, raising her mug. "Thanks for the save."

"Thanks for the tips on flying," I returned, clinking the edge of my goblet to hers. "In fact, we would like to pick your brain some more."

"Oh, sure!" she smiled. "I may not look it but I'm something of a veteran."

"That Recon guy," Kirito mumbled around a mouthful of tart. "He seemed pretty into you. He like your boyfriend or something?"

"Yeah," Yui piped up. "Are you in love?"

"No!" Leafa exclaimed quickly. "I know him in the real world, we go to the same school! That's all!"

"Mm-hmm," I breathed with a grin, having a flashback to teasing Asuna way back when.

Asuna…

* * *

" _This can't be real," I cried out._

 _Andrew had just slid a couple of pictures over to us, showing a blurry image of a birdcage._

 _And within was a figure that reminded us of Asuna's avatar._

 _"Where was this taken?" Kazuto asked._

 _"Inside here'" Andrew slid a game case down to us. Alfheim Online._

 _I looked at Kazuto, thinking of the image of Asuna laying in bed at the hospital. Of the three hundred others that hadn't come out with the rest of us._

 _He knew the look in my eyes._

 _"Together," he whispered, holding me close as tears started to fall._

* * *

"Lis?"

I blinked, memories suddenly vanishing for the moment.

"Sorry," I apologized.

Leafa waved it off as she brought up her menu and sent a friends request. "So, Kirito says you all want to get to the World Tree. Pretty gutsy for new players."

"We don't want to raid it," I said. "Just get there."

The Sylph chewed on her lip for a moment.

"If you want," she whispered. "I could take you there."

* * *

I was laying in bed in the inn as Kirito crawled in next to me. The thought of falling asleep next to him again was calming. We hadn't had a lot of time together since we made it out of SAO.

"Like old times, eh?" he said as he pulled the blanket up.

I just nodded wordlessly as I snuggled into him. As his arms wrapped around me, I looked up into his eyes.

"I feel a little guilty, making you come with me," I whispered. "I mean, she's more my friend than yours, and…"

"Rika," he said, laying a finger across my lips. "I promised to end that world and bring everyone home. I haven't yet, so the fight isn't over yet."

"I know," I whispered when his finger moved away. "But to get her back before a week? From what Leafa said, no one has cleared the World Tree in the year the game has been around, not to mention the guardian boss. We might have our SAO stats for some reason, but we have no concept of how this world works. It suddenly seems crazy."

He smiled and kissed the top of my head. "As crazy as testing the durability of a speed type sword by smashing it against an Elucidator?"

I giggled and gave him a playful swat.

"Mommy, Daddy?"

I looked at the child standing at the bedside, in her original form again. "What is it, sweetie?" I asked.

She fidgeted for a moment.

"Would it be ok if I laid down with you?" she asked. "Just until you fall asleep?"

Kirito shifted slightly. "Of course, Yui."

A few minutes later, Yui was breathing slowly as I held her against me. As Kirito snuggled into me spoonwise, I turned to look at him.

"I've missed this," I said. "Having you nearby, being with Yui. I just wish…"

"That we came back under better circumstances?" he whispered.

I nodded. "To be a family again," I said, hearing the tears that you couldn't hide in the virtual world. "To buy a house and just be with the both of you."

"Rika," he soothed. "We never stopped being a family."

And those words echoed in my mind as I fell asleep in his arms and holding our daughter.

Once again, his arms keeping me warm.


	6. Visiting Hours

I screamed, arms flailing as I fell into the abyss. I stopped and looked up as a hand grabbed my wrist.

"Hold onto me, Liz!" Kirito shouted, pulling me into his embrace.

We hit the ground, and I groaned as I sat up. My HP was hovering in the yellow, the slow chiming sound loud in the silence.

"Are we alive?"

I looked down and realized I was laying on top of Kirito, who had rolled me on top and took the brunt of the fall.

"Yeah," I said, scooting back. He smiled weakly.

"Good," he whispered. "At least I could save you." His form started to glow, then burst into shining pixels of the death animation.

My heart stopped and a scream of anguish ripped from my throat.

And I bolted upright on my bed, the Nervegear still fastened to my head. I was panting, soaked in sweat and the sheets of my bed were wadded at the foot of the bed like they had been kicked there.

I slid to the side of my bed, removing the headgear and glancing at the time. It was a little after eight am. I scrubbed my hands across my face.

"Another dream," I whispered. Nightmares of SAO were common for me, but for every nightmare I had there were good ones, memories of times with Yui and Kirito at the cabin. Why did that digital house feel more like home than my own apartment?

I pondered that as I showered, often sitting on the stool and staring into space. Two years was all it took to erase the comfort of a place you'd lived for four years prior?

I sighed and shut off the shower, heading into my room and pulling on clothes. I frowned as my phone chimed with a text. I picked it up and saw it was from Kazuto.

 _If you're still heading to the hospital, mind if Sugu and I join you? Lunch is my treat…_

I smiled and responded.

 _11:30, and don't be late._

* * *

"Rika," a voice called as I climbed onto the last connecting bus for the hospital. I followed the sound and saw Kazuto sitting near the back, a young girl with the same dark hair sitting next to him.

"Hey, Kazuto," I said as I took the seat directly across from them. "Morning, Suguha. How are you two?"

"I'm making out ok," Kazuto said with a smile. "Even had a little sparring session with Sugu "

"Are you ok?" I asked. "It's only been a couple of months since we made it out."

"Oh, we only went for one point," Sugu said, waving her hands. "He actually did pretty well for someone out of practice and spent the last two years sleeping."

We both fell silent and stared out the window as memories of the actual two years flashed by.

"Oh my God, I'm sorry!" the younger Kirigiya suddenly blurted. "I know it wasn't easy being stuck in there, I shouldn't have said that."

"It's ok," I said quietly. "It's just going to take time for the bad memories to fade and the good ones to rise to the top."

Kazuto put his hand on top of his little sister's head.

"But if you really feel bad, you could take one of my turns at doing the breakfast dishes," he teased.

"Geez!" she huffed, pushing his hand away as a bit of red rose to her face. "Already trying to sneak out of chores, Kazuto?"

The bus pulled up to the stop and we climbed off. The hospital was a short walk and Suguha marveled at the opulent design of the place. We rode the elevator in silence, each of us lost in our own thoughts. Mine were filled with thoughts of Asuna.

It was hard looking at her. Her frame had always been slim, but she was approaching gaunt at this point, despite the nutrient tube. The beeping of the heart monitor was the only indicator of life in the unconscious girl. Her chestnut hair was spread across the pillow, and I remembered it flashing in the sun as we walked with Yui on Floor 47.

"This Asuna Yuuki," I said by way of introduction. "Second in command of the Knights of the Blood Oath."

"She was also known as Lightning Flash," Kirito said. "I never could match her speed or accuracy."

After a bow and a quiet hello, Sugu looked at her brother with a curious look on her face.

"She was a good friend," he said in answer. "She introduced me to Rika, actually."

That was a sticky subject. While not hiding it exactly, we hadn't come out and _told_ Suguha exactly how deep our friendship had gone, either.

The conversation faded out as I remembered having overheard Sugou Nobuyuki as he spoke to the girl prior to one of my visits. He didn't realize I had heard him, but some of the comments had been sickening. Andrew had messaged Kazuto and I the next morning about the pictures.

Sugu went to replace the water in the vase of flowers that sat by her bed, her face distant. I stepped over to see if anything was wrong.

"You ok, Suguha?"

"Rika," she asked softly. "Who was she to Kazuto?"

I frowned at the question. "What do you mean?"

She set the flowers back in the vase, adjusting them slightly. She glanced across the way to where her brother was looking at our friend.

"My brother says there are three hundred players still in comas," the quiet voice came. "But she's the only one he ever thought about coming to visit. So, please, tell me?"

I looked at the girl, wondering what had brought this about

"She was probably one of the first people that stood by him in the early days of the game," I said. "Has he told you anything of what happened inside?"

She shook her head. "I never asked," she said. "I didn't want to dredge up bad memories."

I nodded. "Well, then," I said, taking the vase from the girl.

"We'll tell you at lunch, ok?"

She smiled and nodded.

"Sounds good," she said.


	7. Lunch

We were sitting silently at a table in a nearby café when Kazuto finally broke the silence.

"I don't know how well the news covered the incident," he said. "But in the first month, 2000 players died before we even found the first floor boss."

"Wait, why even look for the boss? Why play that death game at all?"

"We weren't about to just sit around and wait for death," I said. "And we were told that if we cleared the game we could get out. It was the only thing we could think of."

"In the fight against the first boss, we were using info from the beta to plan our strategy. But it wasn't exactly like the beta. His berserk status – when he was down to maybe 5% - was different. We lost our team leader due to it."

"Kazuto and Asuna lead the charge that eventually defeated it," I said. "But the shock that the leader had died sparked anger at the beta testers, and the group began to splinter, looking for someone to blame. Your brother took the blame on himself, becoming a pariah to the rest of the players so they could continue to work together to clear the game. That's why he visits. She is one of the few that didn't blame him or villify him, along with myself and a few others."

Sugu looked at her brother for a second, seeing the light blush on his face. He seemed embarassed.

"I wasn't all that noble," he complained.

"Believe what you want, Black Swordsman," I teased.

"Black Swordsman?"

"Someone started calling me that about a year in," he said. "Just because I always wore black and used a one handed sword."

"Being a solo player into end game content probably contributed too, Kazuto," I said, seeing the respect grow in Sugu's eyes.

"So that was what your stance was about, and that comment about years of habit." she said slyly.

"Have you two seriously not talked about SAO at all?" I asked.

They shook their heads.

"I talked to my Dad about it all," I said. "I wanted him to understand why it was going to take time."

"Everything?" Kazuto gulped.

I grinned evilly at him as the check came. Sliding it towards him, I winked.

"Everything important," I said, giggling at the look of relief on his face.

"What's the joke?" Sugu asked.

"Oh, just a private joke from our time inside," I said. "Nothing to worry about."

But a shared look with Kazuto spoke volumes.

 _I love you._

 _We need to tell her soon._


	8. Shopping

When I logged into ALO the later that afternoon, I was greeted by a tight hug from Yui.

"Welcome back, Mommy!" she almost sang before transforming back into her pixie form. "Daddy's downstairs, waiting for Miss Leafa to come back."

"He's eager to get going, I'm sure," I said, heading down the stairs. I found my husband skimming the inventory screens, familiarizing himself with the interface.

"Hey, honey," he said as he noticed me and closed out his menu. "You ready?"

"As ready as I can be, I suppose," I said. "What were you up to?"

"Just getting familiar with the game mechanics," he said. He pulled up the menu again and scrolled to his skill list. "Since this game relies on your actual abilities and skills instead of an arbitrary leveling system, the time we spent in SAO is actually going to help us if we get in another scuffle. I kept falling into stances and moving like I was still using sword skills when we fought those Salamanders."

"I did too," I said as I sat down. "The weapons we have do kind of pale in comparison to what we used to use, but I'm sure between what we can get with the money we have and my smithing skill I get us set up with something comparable." I smiled sadly. "It won't be anything like Dark Repulsor, but I'm sure you'll find it nice and heavy."

He smiled. "I'm sure you'll put your heart and soul into it again."

I nodded as the door opened and Leafa walked in.

"I'm sorry, have you been waiting long?" she asked.

I shook my head. "No, I just logged in a few minutes ago."

"Well, get ready," she said. "Cause we have a lot of stalls to hit if you want to gear up and rent a forge for an hour or two."

Yui dashed up into the air. "I plotted us a route that will get us through the market streets more efficiently, Miss Leafa," she chimed. "If that's ok with you. You are from here anyway."

Leafa smiled. "I think we'll work together on that, Yui," she said. "One of the places we're stopping isn't an official shop, so it won't be listed on your map as one." She looked at us. "Are all navigation pixies this forward thinking?"

I smiled as Yui alighted on my shoulder. "Not really," I said.

"Ours is a little weird," Kirito said as he reached over and gave his miniature daughter a brush with his finger.

"Daddy, stop," she complained, raising a hand to ward his finger away. "That tickles!"

* * *

I counted slowly to ten, trying to calm my temper. "I'm just saying that this lump of iron isn't worth five hundred Yuld," I said slowly. "At best, I'd give you two hundred."

"And I'd be getting robbed for letting a fine sword like this go for less than four," the shopkeeper replied. "This is as fine a weapon fitting the parameters of your work as can be expected for your levels."

I felt my face heat up. "My level has nothing to do with my ability to appraise goods," I said, leaning forward. "This is a common level weapon, and if it weren't for the fact I don't own a smithy of my own here, I would craft several that would be better than that for half the cost!"

"Lis," Kirito said, touching my elbow gently. "It's fine. It's not what I'm looking for anyway." He handed the sword back to the vendor, who had a stupefied look on his face.

"Good sir," he stammered, seeing a potential sale walking away. "Might I ask what the problem with it is?" He held up the one-handed longsword, it's dark iron blade glinting in the sunlight.

"It's too light," was all my husband said, causing the vendor's mouth to drop open. I waved as I looped my arm in with my love's and walked away, Yui coming to land on my shoulder.

"Jeez, guys," Leafa said. "That's like the tenth sword you've turned down. Why are you looking for something so heavy? Lisbeth found her gear pretty quickly."

I reached down and felt the heavy pewter pommel of the mace suspended from my belt. I also had on something called a battle dress that had armor plates running down either side of my legs and a polished breast and back plate. I chose to stick to heavy leather gloves with a buckler over some of the gauntlets I had seen and my boots were supplemented with greave plates. I felt more like my old self now, ready to stand beside Kirito in a fight.

"It's a weird habit of his," I said, giving him a jab in the ribs. "Every game we play, he has to take the unconventional route."

"Well, at this rate," Leafa said, glancing at the sky. "You might as well forge him a sword. It'd probably fit him better."

Kirito and I shared a smile at that, memory flashing up.


	9. Outfitted

The shrill ring of metal being shaped was music to my ears. The sound of the hammer on the anvil, I knew the sound like I knew my own heartbeat.

"Two hundred Yuld," the smith said. "That gets you a stall for a day. Any profits you make are yours as long as I get the stall rental."

"Seems a bit steep," I said. "Especially since I won't need it for a whole day, maybe an hour or two tops."

"You don't know that little lady," the smith said. "Besides, you're lucky I'm even considering renting to you. Don't give much truck to Leprechauns."

I counted to ten as I gritted my teeth. I felt my hand on my mace handle, and then a soft warmth covered it.

"We can afford it, Lis," Kirito whispered to me. "It's not like it's a waste."

I huffed out a breath and pulled up the inventory window.

"Fine," I spat with resignation. "Two hundred."

The smith accepted the money and pointed to a corner stall. "Should have anything you need. If not, come see me."

I stuck out my tongue as he walked away. "We'll see," I whispered.

When we entered the small stall, I looked at the equipment and snatched up the smithing hammer.

"First things first," I said. "Let's get you a sword."

* * *

"It's perfect," Kirito said.

"It's ridiculous," Leafa replied. "How can you even swing that thing?"

"He's got an outrageous strength stat," I said, wiping my brow. I was even amazed at the size and shape of the sword. By all rights, he shouldn't be able to swing it one-handed, but the test swings he had given showed he could. It didn't look like much, but it was heavy and had a pretty good damage stat on it. I picked up the next item from my anvil, a long black coat. It always seemed odd to me that I could fashion leather armor and such on an anvil, but we were in a game, after all.

"Here," I said. "You don't look right without it."

Kirito equipped the coat, and for a moment, he looked almost like the swordsman I fell in love with. I sighed and smiled at him, earning a slightly nervous chuckle and smile from him.

"Stop," he said. "People are staring."

"Let them," I said, dropping my eyelids a little. "You're all mine, Kirito."

"Get a room, you two," Leafa said, rolling her eyes.

"Maybe later," I said without missing a beat. "Now let me see your sword, Leafa. I think I can bump it up a few levels."

"Sure," she said, pulling it and the scabbard from her belt. "If you can do it, that'd be great. It's the best sword I've ever had, but I'm still on the low end of the damage pool compared to my skill level."

"You are pretty good," I remarked. "You must have played for a while, huh?"

"A fair bit," she agreed. "But I also study kendo IRL, so it translates over for faster skill gains."

"Funny," Kirito said. "My sister studies kendo. Wouldn't that be weird if you knew each other?"

We all shared a laugh at that as I upgraded Leafa's sword. "Only another three hundred damage," I said. "But it's also dropped a second in speed. It's a pretty good sword."

Leafa gave a few test swings before sheathing it. "It doesn't feel any lighter, but I think it feels more balanced," she gave me a shallow bow. "Thank you so much."

Something about the way she bowed and spoke struck a chord in my memory.

"Kirito, why don't you and Yui see about getting some potions and food for the trip?" I asked. "I'm going to work on my mace and armor, see if I can bump it up a few points. I'd also like to see if I could upgrade Leafa's armor as well."

"Alright," he said. "Meet back at the inn?"

"Sounds good," I said, pecking him on the cheek. "Yui, keep him out of trouble, ok?"

"Roger that, Mommy!" she said with a salute.

I waited until they were a fair distance off, far enough that his listening skill couldn't detect us, and turned to Leafa.

"I have a question," I stated, looking her in the eye.

"What is it?"

"Are you familiar with a game called SAO?" I asked.

She paled. "Yeah," she whispered. "A lot of people were trapped in there, including my brother and some of his friends. I've met a few since they got out, but I don't like thinking about it."

I nodded. "Kirito and I are SAO survivors," I admitted. As she gasped and covered her mouth with her hand, I pressed on. "And you are Suguha Kirigaya."

She looked at me in shock. "How do you..."

I jerked a thumb at the diminishing form of Kirirto. "Because that's Kazuto Kirigaya," I said. "And I'm Rika Shinozaki."

"How did you figure it out?" she asked.

"Our voices are slightly different from the real world, but I recognize the way you speak," I said. "Little phrases you use, the way you bow, things like that. Add that to the fact that you study kendo and have been playing for almost a year, around the time that SAO was at it's height, it wasn't a far leap to make. Plus, the couple of times the two of you argued, it sounded like a brother and sister fighting."

"But if you're Rika," she said, glancing at my left hand. "Then, does that mean..."

I sighed, pinching the bridge of my nose. "I won't lie to you, Leafa," I said. "SAO was a hard reality to us. A lot of players, like myself, settled down and opened businesses. I had a pretty nice smithy in Aincrad, and a comfortable life."

I glanced in the direction of my husband. "And then someone came in and turned that life on end," I said, smiling. "And it was the greatest thing ever."

I turned back to her. "We didn't know how long we would be trapped in the game," I continued. "And honestly, we gave each other a reason to live beyond not dying. We got married in the game, and we found Yui, and I had never been happier, despite the danger everywhere past the town walls." I felt a tear form in my eye. "Your brother and Yui are the best things that had come from that horror, and I want you to understand why we are so determined."

"Asuna," she whispered. "You think Asuna is in the World Tree."

I nodded. "We have some pretty convincing evidence that she is," I uttered. "And in about a week's time, if we can't get her out, she's going to be forced into a wedding to someone that's going to use her body and then unplug the devices keeping her alive." I looked her in the eye again. "She was my best friend in the game, and your brother promised to get everyone out. We both have reasons to do this. If you can't go with us beyond guiding us, I understand."

She bit her lower lip, the torrent of information nearly overwhelming her. Then I saw an expression of determination settle in, and I could see the slight familial likeness in the way she set her jaw.

"I'm in," she said. "One favor though."

"Hm?"

"Could we not tell Kazuto?" she asked. "I'd never hear the end of it after the earfull I gave him one night before SAO started, playing a VRMMO myself."

"Deal," I said. "I won't tell him. You will, when you think the time is right."

She nodded.

"I can work with that," she said.


	10. Magic and a Long Talk

"Raul, kirin, apotos, zul?" Kirito said hesitantly.

Leafa sighed. "No, now you're just memorizing words," she said, closing the book she held. "You have to understand what the words of power mean and then put them together to do your spells."

My husband grumbled. "Didn't think I'd have to learn another language for this," he said. "I'll just stick to fighting."

I giggled a little as I heard that. "I managed to get a hang on some decent little spells," I said as I reached over and wrapped my arm around his neck, giving him a little tug towards me. "So I think we'll be good there. Stick to our talents."

I saw Leafa give us an odd look but she shook her head quickly. She glanced down and nodded towards a clearing.

"Our wing timers are coming up," she said, descending. "We should rest for a while."

"Fine by me," I said as we all touched down. Kirito finally got a grip on landings and we all had managed some minor mid-air combat against some winged lizards.

"How are you two on time?" Leafa asked.

"I'm good to go for another couple of hours," Kirirto said.

"Me too," I added. "Though food does sound good."

"We should rotate out," Leafa said.

"Do what now?" Kirito said as he pulled some pocky-looking thing from his inventory and started chewing on it.

"We can't log out in the field, so we rotate out and the other will watch our avatars. That way we can grab a meal, check in with family, whatever. You can go first, if you want, Kirito, and...what is that?"

"This?" he said, holding out the stick. "They were selling them at a shop near the potion stand. Said you could only get them in Sylvain. I grabbed a few, they're pretty good." He held it out a little more, offering it to her.

She took it and just as I remembered his concept of good in VR, she bit into it.

Her face broke out in sweat as she started gasping and coughing. "Hot!" she said.

I gave him a suffering look.

"Well, guess I'll be back," he said, pulling up his menu. "Keep me safe!"

"Get out of here before she hurts you, dummy," I said with a wave.

His body went slack, and Yui came over and sat on my shoulder. Leafa sighed and sat down, staring at his avatar.

"So you two are married in SAO, huh?" she whispered. "How did that happen?"

"Well, it wasn't planned," I said, sitting as well. "He came into my shop one day looking for a sword. I showed him my best one and in a test of durability, he snapped it in two pieces."

"He what?"

I chuckled at the memory. "I'll get to that," I said. "He showed me the sword he had, which was a pretty high-level weapon, one of the best in the lists for random drops. He asked for one equal or better. To test my claim, he slammed my masterpiece into his, and mine lost out. I lost my temper and told him that I could make a weapon that would break his into tiny pieces if I had the right materials."

"I take it he took you up on that?"

I nodded. "The material I needed could only be found in the gullet of dragons in a dungeon zone on one of the cleared floors," I said. "He took me there, very begrudgingly since only a smith could have the material propagate in the loot drops. He took the dragon on solo, and it was the most amazing thing I had ever seen. Then I screwed up and pulled the monster's aggro."

"Then what?"

"The dragon used a wing attack to blow me over a deep crevasse," I said, wrapping my arms around my knees as I drew my legs up to my chest. "He dove in and grabbed me, turning us so he took the brunt of the falling damage. We were trapped in the hole for the night, and I found it weird. I don't know why I asked, but I asked him to hold my hand. The warmth in it kindled my desire to live, especially after a terrifying fall. It was real in a world where almost nothing was.

"I remember him when we got out, the look of absolute confidence that we would be ok," I continued. "And as we were making our way back to my shop, I realized that I felt something for him. We had a brief misunderstanding over it, but we started seeing each other more, even though I had just forged a unique sword that matched why he wanted it. Eventually, we just got closer and closer. Finding out that we lived in the same general area, same grades in school. We shared everything with each other. And then, in the most corny way possible, he proposed to me in game."

"What did he do?" she asked, leaning forward. Yui had flitted over to her shoulder during the story, her attention fixed on us.

"He came in near closing time and asked me to do some maintenance on his gear," I said, wiping a tear away. "I turned around to pick up a hammer and when I turned around all that was left was a box and a note. Inside was the ring. The rest is history."

"And how does Yui fit in?" she asked. "I know you're married in game, but she calls you Mommy and Daddy. You couldn't have had her in-game, could you?"

I laughed. "That's rather personal, Leafa," I teased. As she turned red, I continued. "No, we didn't have Yui in game. We adopted her, would be the appropriate term. She is an AI that detached from the SAO master program after an error in her program. She's as much our daughter as if she were our own flesh and digital blood. The way she looks is an amalgam of our SAO avatars." I gave her a wink.

She winked back and flew up, transforming back into her default form, the appearance giving me a momentary pang of pain for the days when all of us would sit on my porch in the afternoon, enjoying the sunset.

"And this is what Mommy and Daddy looked like in SAO," my child said as she swiped her hand through the air and both of our images near the end appeared, Asgarde in my hand with my armor plates on, Kirito wielding his Elucidator and Dark Repulsor in his long black coat and little armor.

"He was the only player to get Dual Wielding due to his reaction time," I said, smiling sadly at the image of my second masterpiece. "He came to me for the lighter sword to pair with the other so he wouldn't push a normal one past its endurance point. And he got it, and more."

Leafa stared at the image. "That's Kazuto, all right. I didn't know your avatars used your actual images in the game," she frowned. "Why isn't he wearing armor?"

I was thankful for the question since it deflected from the story of launch day and Kayaba's 'gift' of the mirrors. "That's how he played," I said. "Speed. Asuna may have been faster, but that was in part to her rapier build. I made her final weapon, too, by the way. Speed type over power in her. Kirito, though, pushed himself until the weight of his swords were an afterthought, blazing fast with high criticals and avoidance rates. He hit like a freight train and you didn't always see it coming. Like I said, reaction time. His was the highest in the game which is why he got the skill. It was intended to be the end skill for the hero that would face off against the final boss. It was originally our little secret, but everything gets out eventually."

"I still blame Klein for that," he said.

"Welcome back, Daddy!" Yui said, flying over to him.

"How long have you been back?" I asked, frowning at him.

"Around the time you started talking about Asuna and speed type gear," he said, standing. "If you want, you two can rotate out together. I'll keep watch."

"Are you sure?" Leafa asked.

He smiled and hefted his sword with one hand, handling the weight easily.

"I think he's got this, Leafa," I said. "Besides, if anything comes by, we'll be fine. He loves getting his battle on."

"You did do a number on those Salamanders with basic gear," she mused before nodding. "Alright. See you both soon!"

As she logged out I went over to my husband.

"How much did you really hear?" I asked.

"Don't worry, I won't let Sugu know that I know."

My frown got deeper.

"Listening skill carries farther in this game, Lis," he said, grinning. "You should have waited a little longer before asking her."

I facepalmed. "Kazuto, I swear,"

He patted the air. "It's ok," he said. "I actually get why she might have done it. An escape, wanting to know why I was drawn there. And being able to fly on your own wings? That alone would have drawn her in. She always wanted wings."

I leaned back before leaning in and kissig him quickly. "I'll be back soon," I said. "And we will talk about this later." I pulled up my menu.

"Great," he grumbled as the world faded out.


	11. Confessions, prt 1

**Sorry for the lack of updates in this, irl problems and other works kind of getting more complicated than I was thinking they would but, here we go with more deviation from canon and some interpersonal development. Please r and r if you like it or pm me if you spot a typo ^.^**

* * *

I had barely slid the NerveGear off my head when my phone started to ring. I picked it up and while the number looked familiar, it wasn't in my contacts list. I tapped the ringer button and answered it.

"Hello, this is Rika," I said cheerily, hoping it wasn't a telemarketer.

"Rika," a voice said, hesitantly. "It's Suguha Kirigaya."

"Oh," I responded in surprise. "Hey, Suguha. What's the matter? We both saw each other just a moment ago."

"I wanted to ask you something but my brother got back faster than I thought he would," she whispered. "He also set out some food for me, so I have spare time."

"Ok," I spoke hesitantly as I headed for my own kitchen. My apartment wasn't all that large, but it was enough for me and Keiko on the occasions when she would come for a sleep-over. My parent's lived far enough away that to attend the SAO school, I had gotten a small flat about an hour's walk from the building. I missed my folks, but they couldn't uproot themselves to move for what may be only a year or three. I wouldn't ask them to, either. "What's up?"

"Do you love my brother?" she whispered, and I caught a tone in her voice, a hint of fear.

"With all my heart," I said into the mouthpiece. "But that's not what you wanted to know, is it?"

The line was silent for a moment, and I glanced at my phone to see if the call had dropped.

"I do, too," Suguha said softly.

"Of course," I said. "He's your brother."

"No, he isn't," she replied. "Not really. We're cousins. But that's not really what I mean. I love him because I'm _in_ love with him."

Oh dear…I hope that doesn't complicate things.

"Sugu," I started.

"Don't worry," she said quickly. "I'm not going to compete with you or declare you a rival for his affections. You got there first and I only recently managed to get a firm grasp of what I felt. I just…felt you should know."

I felt a small smile tug at my lips. "Thank you," I said. "But about Kazuto, I think when we log back in, if you feel up to it, we should come clean to him."

"Why?"

"Because honestly," I said. "I don't want to play at being just good friends when the three of us are together and it may be easier for us to do this little trek if we all dive together at your place."

I heard a rustling of cloth on her end, the sound of someone shifting on a bed. "I'm not sure if I'm ready yet," she mumbled. "What if he hates me or something?"

I smiled and giggled. "Trust me," I said. "He could never hate you. And if he gets mad, I'll clobber him."

I heard her giggle at that. "Won't that upset Yui?"

I shrugged in reflex. "She may be Daddy's little girl," I admitted. "But she tends to side with me when he does something silly. You should have heard her when we first logged in, when he couldn't get a grip on flying."

Suguha was laughing full out at the thought. "Ok, ok," she said when she caught her breath. "When we get back in, we'll talk on the way. How long will you be?"

I glanced at the clock as I pulled a bit of leftover pasta from my refrigerator. "Maybe fifteen minutes?"

"Ok," she said. "I'm going to grab a quick bath while I wait then. See you back inside!"

And I leaned against the counter, looking at the phone after she hung up, a curious feeling inside.

It felt like how I felt when Keiko would come by or when the two of us and Asuna would sit together on nights when it was just us girls. Keiko was like a little sister to me, and Asuna was my best friend next to Kazuto.

I smiled.

"I guess I just got myself another sister," I whispered as I quickly heated the pasta, rummaging for a fork.


	12. Confessions, prt 2

Kirito was playing with Yui when the world materialized around me, our girl in her regular form once again. She spied me perking up almost immediately.

"Mommy!" she shouted, pulling her hands from Kirito's and rushing over to hug me. "Welcome back."

"That didn't take long," Kirito said as Yui returned to her pixie form. "You sure you're good to go on? Leafa isn't back yet, you could take another few minutes."

"I'm fine," I told him, sliding up for a quick hug and a peck on the lips. "And who should happen to call me no sooner than I take the NerveGear off? Your sister."

He blinked. "Why?"

"She wanted to ask me something and tell me something that's been bothering her." I smiled up at him. "I suggested that we come clean when she logs back in."

Yui tilted her head. "What do you mean, Mommy?"

Kirito reached up and gently put his fingertip on her head. "She means that Leafa is going to admit to being Sugu to me and talk things out."

"And you have to pretend to be a little surprised at it," I added. "She thinks Yuri and I are the only ones that know."

"I promise," my husband said, raising a hand. And that was enough for me, his promises were deeply held, as shown by how badly he had beaten himself up over the fate of the the Moonlit Black Cats and Sachi in particular.

"I'm back!" Leafa said, standing up and immediately blushing before looking away.

"Hi Leafa!" Yui said, drifting over to give her a welcoming hug.

"Ready to go?" Kirito asked, glancing at me to give me a wink.

"I'm ready," I said, sticking my tongue out at the goofball.

"Actually," Leafa said. "Before we go…"

"Yes?" Kirito asked, turning to her.

"I…" she blushed and patted her cheeks for a moment before blurting out the next words quickly. "I'm your sister Suguha! I'm sorry I didn't tell you about playing ALO please don't hate me!"

Kirito kept up a façade of polite surprise…for all of four seconds.

"Oh, Sugu," he chuckled. "How could I hate you? I know better the draw of a game where you can live out your dream."

"But after everything that happened," she said, tears starting to well up in her eyes.

And Kirito did what I expected him to. He walked over and hugged her, and she clung to him like a lifeline.

"It's ok," he said softly, rubbing her back. "Are you ok with Rika and I? Being involved, that is?"

She nodded, sniffling. "Yeah," she whispered. "I'll need to get used to the idea of my nerd brother having a girlfriend, but I think I'll be ok with it."

He stepped back a little and held an arm out to me, bringing me into the embrace. I rested my head on his shoulder and smiled.

"Now that I'm not the middle man anymore," I said. "Should we continue on our way?"

"By all means," Leafa said. "And Kazuto, you and I are going to have a rematch as soon as we free Asuna. Here, where we're evenly matched." She held out her fist.

"Deal," he said, bumping her fist in exchange.

We all took to the air, but before we continued, Kirito froze and looked behind us, a frown crossing his features.

"Problem?" I asked.

"I don't know," he said. "For a moment I thought I felt someone watching us."

"What did it feel like?" Leafa said immediately, hand going to her sword's hilt.

"Just like someone looking at me," he said, staring intently towards Sylvain, then glancing down. "I could't tell you from where, though. In SAO, my detect skill would have given me a general area."

"It may be a seeker spell," Leafa said. "We are entering wild territories and players sometimes keep track of higher level players to avoid being killed. Or the fact that a Sylph, a Spriggan, and a Leprechaun traveling together may have made someone curious." She glanced around as well. "The familiar could be anything and we'd spend days looking and never find it. Unless it becomes an issue, I say we ignore it for now."

"I'm not thrilled with the idea of being followed," I said, feeling the hilt of my spiked mace. I had never missed Asgarde so much as now.

"The spell might only last a few hours," Leafa said, turning and starting to fly off. "And besides, can't Yui warn us if other players start closing in?"

"I can," she said from my shoulder. "But only if they are within five hundred meters."

"Well," Kirito said. "I'll keep an eye behind us for now. We're pretty well equipped if anything comes up."

But even with his reassurances, I kept glancing behind us as we flew, my mind kept conjuring up images of glowing eyes glaring at us.


	13. The Legrue Corridor

"I can't see a thing," Leafa said as we walked into the mouth of the cave. "Hey, Kazu…Kirito, don't you have a darkvision spell or something?"

"I think so?" Kirito said as he pulled up his menu and scrolled through till he found the spell he needed. He skimmed the words a few times before holding a hand palm outwards towards us.

" _Osu narza no tarisa ouga!"_

Immediately, the corridor before me grew brighter. It wasn't as bright as a torchlit dungeon would have been, but it was enough that I wouldn't have to worry about tripping over the rest of my party or small snags in the floor. "Whoa," I whispered, looking around.

"So this is night vision magic," Leafa said, hands on her hips as she turned around, marveling at the cavern. "I always thought spriggan magic was lame, but this is pretty cool."

Kirito crossed his arms and frowned. "I'm not sure if that was a compliment or not."

His sister laughed before patting his shoulder. "You're practicing the magic you can use. It's a good thing."

I threw my arm around his neck and gave him a tug. "And now you can do something besides hit things with your sword."

"Now that was a diss."

We had barely moved down the corridor before Yui's voice chimed out. "Mommy, Daddy, I'm getting something approaching!"

I spun, hand going to my mace handle, scanning the area. "Monsters?" I saw Kirito's hand slide up to his sword's hilt.

"No," my daughter responded. "Players, twenty of them, coming up fast."

"We can't face that many," Leafa said. "Not in here where our terrain and space is limited. We'll hide."

"Where?" Kirito asked. "It's been a pretty straight shot with no deep offshoots."

Leafa giggled and pushed us both into a shallow depression and spun around, hand going skyward as words quickly slid forth. Moments later, a shimmering field went up before us.

"We can talk, but we have to be quiet about it," she said as she stepped back. "Any louder and it could disrupt the spell."

I slapped Kirito's hand as he reached up to poke the shield. "Won't they see us?"

The sylph shook her head. "My shield spells are pretty solid. We'll see who they are as they go by, and decide what to do then."

We waited in silence for a moment, and I took Kirito's hand in mine. I knew that he felt that twenty players wouldn't be hard to take on, but even he valued good intel, especially after the fiasco that had been the raid on Laughing Coffin.

He tensed, his eyes staring forward. "Did you see that?"

I followed his gaze, but I knew his detect skill was higher than mine by a fair margin.

"No," Leafa said. "What did you see? The players?"

"No," he said. "It was small, and had red eyes, like a bat."

Leafa stood ramrod straight and dashed forward, the spell words snapping from her mouth before we could even ask her what was going on. Bolts of yellow light lanced down the corridor and before long I saw the faint but eerily familiar sparkle of NPC death.

"It was a high level tracking spirit," Leafa said, grabbing my wrist and starting to race down the hall. "And there's only one race that can conjure a high level fire familiar."

"Salamanders," Kirito spat as we raced.

"Got it in one."

"Why can't we hide again?" I panted. I had decent stamina still, but I was never fond of running long distances. "Let them pass by?"

"They'll be looking for it now," Leafa said as the cavern suddenly expanded massively. "They'd find us in a second."

We began running on the bridge, the gates to Legrue just a few hundred yards away.

"We're almost there," I gasped, feeling better.

That's when the wall sprouted from the stone between us and the gate.

"No way," Kirito growled, leaping forward and hewing at the wall. It rebuffed his attempt and the recoil flung him back.

"Hey!" I shouted. "Careful with that thing!"

"It's a high level Earth barrier," Leafa swore. "They've got mages with them." She drew her sword almost the same moment my mace made it to my hand.

"They won't get us so easily," I growled when I saw Kirito step in front of us.

"Leafa, Lis," he said. "I know you're both good fighters. But would you mind just backing me up at first?"

I nodded and lowered my mace, but Leafa sputtered in confusion as he raised his sword and began striding forward. She went to stop him but I put a hand on her arm, halting her progress.

"Let's trust him this far," I murmured. "You've seen him against a couple off guard pkers and some monsters."

I looked forward towards my swordsman, seeing in my minds eye the Dark Repulser in his hand, paired with his Elucidator, glowing with held sword skills.

"You've never seen him go all out before."


	14. Fight on the Bridge

Soon, a group of eight Salamander soldiers rushed up, bearing large shields. I could see robed wizards and swordsmen behind them and in sufficient numbers that I was beginning to feel concern for Kirito. I knew that despite our skill ranks, we were still a little low level comparatively. And as soon as they set up a phalanx, they showed their plan.

And my husband was acting as a shield between them and Leafa and me.

He rushed forward and tried to slash his way through the blocking shields and succeeded in knocking a small hole in the phalanx, but a fireball lanced forward and knocked him back. Several more fireballs rushed forwards and engulfed him, his HP bar starting to dip precipitously.

Leafa and I both cast healing spells as the flames flickered and Kirito stood up, his stance showing that he was getting angry.

"Kirito!" Leafa called. "It's ok! If we lose it's just a few more hours of flying."

He looked back at us, flames backlighting his figure.

"No way," he said, his voice carrying to us easily despite the distance. "I won't let anyone in my party get killed. I WON'T let that happen again!"

I felt a small stab of pain in my chest. I knew where that sentiment came from, though I doubt Leafa did.

He dipped low and yelled a war cry as he rushed the shield wall with his top speed, stopping to baseball-swing the massive sword flat side out into the grounded defenses. The soldiers stumbled backward, some shields cracking in spiderwebs. I saw the HP bars of the Salamanders dip and Kirito wedged the blade of his sword in to try and create enough of an opening to hop through.

Then a light haze appeared around the Shield-bearers, and their HP began to rise back into the green. Kirito backflipped away as more fire came flying out, landing just a dozen paces or so away.

"They have healers, damn it!" I swore, pulling my mace. I was about to charge forward when I felt Yui tap me on the shoulder.

"Mommy, wait!" she chided. "Miss Leafa! Quick, use all your mana to shield him through the next salvo. Mommy, you have to move quickly to get to him and defend him from the swordsmen, go!"

I was moving before she finished speaking, mace held firmly and my armor suddenly light as a feather. As I passed him, he raised his sword and started chanting.

 _Seya orazo Dit'to!_

Illusion magic? Now?!

"Do it now, Daddy!" I dimly heard Yui shout, but my attention was pulled away towards a rushing swordsman.

I ducked under his first swing, bringing the head of my mace up between his legs and blowing him into the air. I'm sure he appreciated the fact that the pain sensors were deadened while diving, though.

"Whatever you're doing, Kirirto," I gritted as I took a two-handed grip on my mace, keeping my buckler forward. "Hurry your ass up!"

I parried the next armsman's swing with my buckler, the point of their sword rebounding hard and jarring my arm before I slammed the rounded boss in the center of my shield into his face. As he staggered backward, I swung hard with my mace and was rewarded with the sound of armor crunching. As I squared off against a third, I heard the sound of wind rushing behind me. The armsman in front of me hesitated, what of his skin I could see paled.

Then a roar tore through the still air.

Turning, I saw a massive monster, one that I had only heard described by Asuna and Kirito, the one that he had revealed his Dual Wielding skill to a large group of players.

"Gleam Eyes," I breathed, taking a step away instinctively before my brain caught up with me. "Is that you, Kirito?"

The monster snorted, steam wafting from its mouth before dashing forward and impaling a shield-man on its claws.

I backed away quickly, getting out of the way of the slaughter that ripped through the Salamander ranks.

"How is that possible?" Leafa asked as she came up to me. "I thought the illusion spells could only make you look like a monster."

"That's usually how it works," Yui said. "But there is a feature that most don't know because they can only take the form of monsters they've defeated. So it's creatures weaker than you and usually your opponents. Daddy, though, has defeated monsters stronger than anything seen in the game so far, and can take their shape."

"When did you figure this out?" I asked as Kirito-Gleam Eyes scooped up a wizard and chomped him like dango.

"While you and Aunt Leafa were logged out. He was skimming his spells and found out this neat one." She punched her tiny fists out as the fighting mounted for a second. "Go, Daddy!"

The Salamanders were less routed as they were absolutely decimated. Remain lights flickered all over the bridge, and those that hadn't run were cowering behind cover that did them no good.

"Kirito!" Leafa shouted suddenly. "Don't kill them all!"

The monster snarled and kicked one mage back towards us rather gently. I took a tight grip on his collar and put the pointed cap of my mace under his chin.

"Hi," I said sweetly. "Why don't you hang out for a few?"

A few moments later, Kirito came over, rolling his arm like he always did after a long fight.

"Man, that was awesome!" he said.

The mage shrank away from him, eyes wide. "What was that?" he whimpered.

"Let's talk about something else," Leafa said, sword drawn. "Like who sent you?"

I tilted my mace slightly, forcing him to look up as the point started to dig into his chin.

"Ladies, ladies," Kirito said, stepping up. "There's a much easier way." He pulled up his menu and shared it with the mage. "Tell us what we ask, and all this can be yours."

I rolled my eyes.

"Men," Leafa and I said in unison, giggling when we realized that we had spoken in unison.


End file.
